Guided incrementalism: informal spatial adaptation and the future of migrant housing in Bangladesh

Abstract

Environmental migration is transforming the built environment of cities in the Global South. As a universal adaptation strategy, migration often arises when other forms of adaptation fail in response to socioeconomic uncertainty and environmental pressure. However, migration to major cities often contributes to the proliferation of substandard housing within informal settlements, raising a housing question. Although formal initiatives to rehabilitate the landless, homeless, and displaced population are not uncommon, such top-down, neoliberal developments frequently lead to gentrification. Furthermore, traces of informality in the planned housing environment indicate a necessity for a bottom-up approach. In this background, this study examines the morphogenesis of the settlements and how migrant communities in vulnerable settlements adapt their housing environments to cope with social dynamics, economic pressure, and environmental change. The study presents lessons from the housing transformation and spatial adaptation at Sri Krishnapur Ashrayan Project (planned resettlement as sample site) and Jogen Babur Maath (informal settlement as target site), in the Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. In doing so, the study has undertaken a mixed-methods approach combining non-participant observation (n=4), semi-structured interviews (n=14), and focus group discussions (n=2). The morphologies are classified, themes are identified, and their spatial patterns are analyzed. Findings reveal incremental and heterogeneous housing development across sites. The typologies of setback, aligned, setback-aligned, setforward, and aligned-setforward are dominant forms. While these small-scale adaptations allow for greater household adaptability and multifunctionality, they also limit sociability and accessibility. Sri Krishnapur Ashrayan Project displays limited but structured adaptations, while Jogen Babur Maath demonstrated organic growth with stronger socioeconomic adaptation outcomes. Emerging themes, such as social adaptations, included horizontal and vertical extensions, appropriation of space for multifunctionality, and independent access to services. Economic adaptations included multifunctional spaces for livestock, small shops, and home-based enterprises. Environmental adaptations stressed structural upgrades using permanent materials. Some strategies overlapped, such as toilets and tubewells, which serve both social benefits (privacy) and environmental needs (water, sanitation, and hygiene during flood). Spatial analysis shows that highly integrated households displayed grid layouts (ring-like), while households with low integration followed a linear (tree-like) spatial arrangement. Central rooms, foyers, verandas, and circulation nodes are highly integrated, while peripheral toilets, storage, and wash areas are less integrated. Incremental development hinges on transitional spaces such as central rooms, verandas, and stairs, which support expansion but often create circulation bottlenecks. Although most transformed houses showed well-integrated spatial evolution, many lack spatially sound layouts. Focus group discussions revealed infrastructure gaps, including poor drainage, waste management, and failing toilets, worsened by seasonal flooding. Residents also face social challenges such as drug abuse and weak law enforcement. Moreover, the limited success of institutional interventions at Jogen Babur Maath highlights the need for community participation in the decision-making process. Overall, the study critiques top-down resettlement policies and proposes a quasi-formal approach with an adaptive formal-informal continuum for housing development in marginalized communities. The findings underscore the agency of the inhabitants in shaping resilient urban morphologies and offer insights for participatory, sustainable adaptation planning in secondary cities of the Global South.